Frozen Hearts
by Creeper Peeper
Summary: Goldkit got separated from her clan during a blizzard that raged on till her death. Lightclan challenge. (COMPLETE)


Goldkit wandered through the biting cold, alone and afraid. She had been separated from her clan when the sudden blizzard came in. She mewled out in hunger for days on end. She had to learn how to catch what little prey there was. She was Hungry. She was lost. She was cold. And worst of all to this poor little kit, she was alone.

_What did I do to deserve this, Starclan? _she thought, shivering in her hunched over position, trying to keep out the cold. She sneezed and shivered some more. _Why?_

Goldkit sat there for several day's, too cold and tired to hunt for prey. She nibbled on the few crisp leaves there in her den, her eyes set on the horizon for any signs of life. She saw an owl flitting above in the trees, several mice in it's beak, scrawny but doable. But Goldkit knew that she couldn't fight the bird for it's prey. She was too small, too weak, too cold to fight. The bird could easily kill her and make a better meal out of her scrawny pelt than those mice.

And so she sat.

One day, Goldkit saw the silhouette of a cat on the horizon, picking it's way down a hill through the snow, the blizzard still raging on. She forced herself to her paws, stumbling and falling face-first into the lightly snow covered dirt in front of her. She lifted her head and called out to the cat outside. "Help!" she tried to shout, but her voice was barely audible, even to herself. _How long have I been sitting here? _She thought. She slowly sat up and looked at her tattered pelt. Her once beautiful calico pelt, made up of brown, black and a light gold, was now tattered and dull, unable to return to it's true color now. Goldkit only had a moment to take in the sight before the cat outside would disappear into the forest.

Goldkit pushed her way out of the den and stumbled into the sight of the cat outside. The cat froze and stared at her, jaw dropped and hanging open, snow falling into it. The cat started to run to her but disappeared into the ground as it opened up and swallowed him.

Goldkit whimpered as the icy wind tore through her pelt some more. She whimpered for the cat that could be her savior. She whimpered because she missed her mom and siblings and Tigerclan, the clan in which she was separated from.

Finally, the black head of the cat swallowed by the earth appeared above the snow, still a good several tree length's away from Goldkit. His pale brown eyes were determined to reach the tiny kit as he pushed his way to the top of the snow, not even giving a moment to shake out his pelt as he stretched his limbs and sprinted towards the calico kit.

His speed was devastatingly slow, however fast he moved. Too slow to save the little kit. The black cat was still three tree lengths away when Goldkit felt the first of her life edging away from her, like tiny particles drifting away, one by one, from your soul itself. Her vision got blurry and black dots started to appear, spots blacker than the cat coming to her aid.

At two tree lengths away, the cat stumbled when he saw the light ebbing away from Goldkit's eyes, his own startled and alarmed. He put on an extra burst of speed, even more determined to reach the kit. "Hold on!" he called to her. "I'm coming!" But she couldn't hold on. Not any more. Goldkit's breath was coming short and ragged, clouding before her in an icy fog as time itself seemed to slow down, like the earth itself was waiting to witness the death of a great warrior to be. Goldkit felt herself slipping even more, more black spots were covering her vision.

At a tree length away, the black tom slipped an tumbled, getting right back up and running even faster to save Goldkit. But it was too late. She was drifting already. Floating, even. She looked down and saw the black tom sobbing over her dead body, even though he never met her before now. Goldkit sighed and whispered parting words to her family, saying how she was sorry that she never made it back to them, when she spotted her. When she spotted _them_. Goldkit's mother, father, and siblings were there, standing, mewing greetings to her and encouraging her to come with them. Her golden mother was smiling, her pelt flecked with stars.

Goldkit cried out and ran to them, joy and anger and sadness ripping through her soul. She was joyous to see her family. She was sad that they had not survived the blizzard. But most of all, she was angry with Starclan for bringing this upon her family and clan. But that didn't matter now that she was dead.

Goldkit choked back her sobs as her dark pelted father rested his tail on the tiny calico's back and lead her into the stars.


End file.
